Various forms of ice exist, such as (1) chunks or blocks of ice which are large lumps weighing about 50 kg and, accordingly, have a small ratio of superficial area to weight and melt very little, (2) broken ice pieces smaller than the ice chunks, (3) plates of ice having a thickness of about 3 to 10 mm and (4) slices of ice less than 3 mm in thickness. They will all be called generically pieces of ice. The pieces of ice are used in large quantities for the purpose of keeping fresh fish cool. Usually, pieces of ice are stocked in an icebox in substantial amount, from which a suitable amount of ice is taken out for use whenever necessary.
The superficial layer on the pieces of ice are, during storage in heaps, liable to melt and then become united as secondary ice forms constituting large aggregative masses of ice. Consequently, it is not easy to remove ice from a refrigerated storage housing when it is in large pieces. It is particularly extremely difficult to remove pieces of ice in a downward direction from the storage area because such secondary ice forms, when refrozen, stagnate in the form of a bridge between the interior walls of the storage area.
The aggregation of ice thus assuming a bridge state does not drop evenly when any attempt is made to remove it with the aid of a scratching-off device at the lower part of the storage area and a void space is formed above the scratching-off device, so that the device runs idle and the scratching-out operation is discontinued. Accordingly, every such situation demands a breaking up of the aggregative masses of refrozen ice, which requires troublesome labor and results in a decrease in the efficiency of operation.
In view of the drawbacks inherent in the prior art apparatus, the present invention has been developed to provide a novel apparatus for storage of pieces of ice capable of eliminating the drawbacks thoroughly and still be suitable for mechanization. The apparatus is comprised of a housing which is of a frustum of pyramid or cone shaped which is increased in cross-sectional area from top to bottom and is formed with a thermal insulation on the internal sidewall thereof. A scratching-off device for scratching and dropping pieces of ice is provided at a position corresponding to a bottom opening of said housing and is adapted to drop the pieces of ice within the housing downwardly in sequence and continually by the energization and actuation and the scratching-off device in order that the pieces of ice can be subsequently removed from a delivery station positioned below the scratching-off device.